Chapter 107 People Must Have Bottom Line
In the second year since the establishment of the Teng tribe, on October 11th, it was the Frost Descent.
The cold wind was howling last night. When Jiang Xuan got up in the morning, he found that the outside had turned into a vast expanse of white.
A layer of white frost had formed on the ground and the roof, and even the grass in the yard was frozen hard. When you stepped on it, it made a crisp "crunching" sound, as if you were stepping on paper.
In the forest, a layer of rime condensed on the trees, which was whiter than snow and very beautiful.
Although the scenery was beautiful, the weather was getting colder. Even Tangyuan was not as active as usual. Instead, he stayed in the bamboo shed, hid his head under the feathers and slept.
Jiang Xuan returned to the bamboo house, found the calendar bamboo tube, and carved the word "Shuangjiang" next to today's date.
He turned over the bamboo calendar of last year and found that the Frost Descent last year was on September 12, which was a full month off.
"There's too much difference. It gives me a headache."
Jiang Xuan scratched his head, unable to figure out what was going on. It seemed that making an accurate calendar was a long and arduous journey.
But he didn't get discouraged. After all, it was just a matter of recording it every day and it wouldn't take much time.
"Chief Xuan."
Just then, there was a knock on the door outside. Tangyuan in the bamboo shed raised his head and stood up, with a vigilant look in his eyes.
Tangyuan is now covered with purple feathers, its beak has been sharpened, and its claws are thicker and stronger. It looks very fierce overall and has the temperament of a ferocious bird.
Jiang Xuan walked into the yard, and Tangyuan followed closely behind him.
After the door opened, Jiang Xuan saw Dongkui.
He felt a headache and wanted to close the door again, but Dongkui quickly squeezed through the door and into the yard.
"Chief, what are you doing? I won't eat you."
Dongkui showed a triumphant smile on her face, but the next moment, a big head appeared in front of her.
"Soup... glutinous rice balls..."
Dongkui pretended to be calm, but in fact, she felt a little nervous when she met Tangyuan's sharp eyes.
"Tangyuan, go to bed."
Jiang Xuan opened Tangyuan’s big head.
Tangyuan looked at Dongkui, then staggered into the bamboo shed and squatted down to sleep again.
"What do you want from me?"
"Chief, do you have a torn fur coat that needs mending? I just learned how to sew fur coats, and I also brought this!"
Dongkui took out a sharp bone needle and some thread made of animal intestines from his body like a magic trick.
The bone needle is relatively large, with a sharp front end and a hole drilled at the end for threading.
The animal skin clothes of the tribesmen were basically made by sewing them with bone needles and intestinal thread.
It is said that the first tribesmen who sewed clothes got the inspiration from seeing a tailor bird weaving a nest.
The tailor bird is a very peculiar bird. It has superb sewing skills. It can use natural threads such as spider webs and cotton to sew together several broad leaves to build its own nest.
After seeing this sewing method, the tribesmen who were good at learning initially used sharp bone spurs to poke holes in the edges of animal skins, and then used thin ropes to sew several pieces of animal skins together, turning them into the simplest animal skin clothes.
Later, some people felt that it was troublesome to thread the thread into the hole after poking it with the bone spur, and the hole was relatively large, so the animal skin clothing leaked air.
So they came up with a solution, which was to drill a small hole at the end of the bone spur, turning the bone spur into a bone needle.
The bone needle can be used to carry the thin rope while making holes, which not only makes sewing faster but also avoids making large holes, making the animal skin clothing less leaky.
Later, the tribesmen found that both bark ropes and straw ropes were easy to break after wearing for a long time, and the ropes were rough and difficult to pull through the small holes when sewing.
After continuous attempts, they unexpectedly discovered that the intestinal thread made from animal intestines was not only smooth and thin, but also durable, and was very suitable for sewing animal leather clothes.
So they began to use gut thread to sew animal skins, and this method has continued to this day.
Jiang Xuan looked at the bone needle and catgut in Dong Kui's hand and said helplessly, "Thank you, I don't have any animal skin clothes that need sewing."
Dongkui put away the bone needle and catgut in disappointment, then looked inside the bamboo house. She saw some unfinished stone tools on the ground, so she said, "Then I'll help you sharpen the stone tools. I'm very patient and I'm sure I can sharpen them well."
"Need not……"
Before Jiang Xuan could finish his words, Dong Kui had already entered the room and started rubbing against him, not giving Jiang Xuan any chance to refuse.
Faced with this situation, Jiang Xuan had no experience in dealing with it, so he had no choice but to let Dong Kui slowly grind the stone tools inside.
Polishing stone tools is a job that requires a lot of patience and strength.
Because a good stone tool often requires more than ten days or even several months to polish.
Starting from a piece of stone of suitable shape, it is ground into a rough blank, and then polished into shape. Some stone tools even require drilling holes, which takes a very long time.
The tribesmen usually polish the jade for a period of time every day, slowly, on rainy days when they cannot go out, or in other free time.
However, Jiang Xuan heard that some tribes had professional stone tool makers who did not have to go hunting or do anything else every day. They just specialized in polishing stone tools and had very advanced skills.
If there is a chance in the future, Jiang Xuan also wants to train a few stone tool masters in the Teng tribe so that all members of the tribe can use really good stone tools.
Jiang Xuan simply washed up and began to prepare breakfast. He looked at Dong Kui who was still sitting beside the fire pit, polishing stone tools carefully and had no intention of leaving. He sighed slightly and silently cooked one more portion.
Jiang Xuan used a small three-legged round tripod with a lid and two handles, which made it easy to move.
He first moved the round tripod outside and washed it, then added a few scoops of water into it with a ladle made of a gourd-shaped plant, and put some washed animal meat, round potatoes, stone eggs, and some pickles in it.
Then he moved the burning wood back to the fire pit and placed it under the three-legged round tripod.
Not long after, the water in the round tripod began to steam.
Jiang Xuan was not idle either. He found an animal tooth and slowly polished it into a tooth knife.
As he was grinding, he asked Dongkui, "Why do you always come to see me?"
Dong Kui raised her head, looked at Jiang Xuan with burning eyes and said, "Because I want to live with you and give birth to many children for you."
Jiang Xuan said helplessly: "Tell the truth."
"That's the truth."
Jiang Xuan said: "If you don't tell the truth, I will kick you out."
Dong Kui was silent for a moment, then slowly lowered her head and said, "Okay, I admit it. I just want to be a true member of the Teng tribe and don't want to be driven away one day."
"Who told you that you would be kicked out?" Jiang Xuan looked at her helplessly.
Dong Kui said: "Every tribe is like this. When there is a shortage of food in winter, those unimportant people will be driven out and starve to death or freeze to death."
"They might even eat us as food, just like the mosquito tribes."
Jiang Xuan couldn't help but said, "But we in the Teng tribe have plenty of food. As long as you don't have any other intentions and work hard, you will become a true member of the Teng tribe sooner or later!"
Dong Kui retorted: "But what if the tribe encountered a disaster before becoming a member of the Teng tribe?"
Jiang Xuan was speechless for a moment. Everyone has relatives and strangers. If the tribe really encountered a disaster, the priority would definitely be the real tribesmen.
Dongkui continued: "So, I want to give birth to a few children for you, so that you won't drive me out for the sake of the children."
Jiang Xuan looked at Dong Kui's face. She was not that old and still looked a little immature, with her body not fully developed.
But perhaps because of the harsh environment, her mentality has become that of a real adult, and she knows how to use her body to exchange for some benefits.
To be honest, Jiang Xuan felt a little distressed about this, but it didn't mean that he had to accept Dong Kui.
He thinks that it is better for people to have some bottom line.
Jiang Xuan’s bottom line is that he cannot do unspeakable things without any emotion or understanding.
Jiang Xuan wanted to say something, but finally remained silent.
Dong Kui continued to polish the stone tools with her head down. The firewood burning in the fire pit made crackling sounds from time to time. The water in the pottery tripod was slowly boiling, and the food began to roll...
(End of this chapter)
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